The Auburn Tigers (23-7, 12-5) will look to sweep the season series when they face the Georgia Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11) in the final game of the regular season on Saturday.
It will be a bittersweet day on the plains, as Auburn will recognize their seniors prior to tip. Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, K.D. Johnson, Dylan Cardwell, Chris Moore, Lior Berman, Jalen Harper and Carter Sobera will all be honored before their last contest in Neville Arena.
“It will be an emotional start to the game,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “Those guys loved Auburn, and Auburn loved them. They got a lot done together.”
After the emotions have settled, Auburn will look to continue their winning ways against the Bulldogs. The two squads have already met in Athens this year, where Auburn walked away the victors in a 97-76 win in which the game was much closer than the score indicated.
“I would expect Georgia to come in with confidence having played us even for about 30 minutes,” Pearl said. “It really wasn’t until the last seven or eight minutes that we pulled away. They’re coming off a win against Ole Miss on Tuesday night, and we’ll have to play well again to beat them.”
A storyline that is always thrilling to watch is Auburn’s K.D. Johnson playing against his former team. Johnson is now 4-1 against Georgia since making the in-conference transfer to Auburn, and is averaging double-digit scoring in those contests.
Another Tiger that will be looking to build on their success against the Bulldogs is junior Chad Baker-Mazara. In his first taste of the rivalry, Baker-Mazara would go off for 25 points and five rebounds. A similar performance on Saturday night would go a long way in securing a crucial victory for his team.
While it may not be the flashiest matchup on paper, there are significant implications on the line for the Tigers. The top half of the SEC standings are still wide open, with the SEC tournament approaching fast.
“We’ve got a lot at stake in this game,” Pearl said. “We’ve been talking most of the last month or so that we can finish anywhere between first and sixth. Now we find ourselves in a situation where we can finish anywhere between second and sixth. A victory would guarantee us a spot in the top four seeds and a double bye.”
In the gauntlet of the SEC tournament, a double bye can be extremely crucial to a team’s prolonged success. Auburn is one win away from securing that coveted top four spot in one of college basketball’s most difficult conferences.
The Senior Day matchup between the Tigers and the Dawgs is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and live audio coverage can be found on the Auburn Sports Network.
